


You raise me up

by andryanette



Category: Whiplash (2014)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Suicide Attempt, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 10:44:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6371662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andryanette/pseuds/andryanette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Andrew has always been a tough cookie....until the day he meets the great Terence Fletcher.<br/>(Setting after the Car Crash)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where am I?

He tried to open his eyes...so much bright light....almost washed the room. A sharp smell of spirit struck his nose. His head began to spin, hands felt heavy, he couldn't even move his neck and among all these he tried to sit up.

And as he sat up on the bed, something pulled him from behind. Andrew realised it was an IV attached to his hand. Before he began to wonder how all these happened, someone rushed to him. It was...."dad?", he asked in croaked voice.

His dad, Jim forcefully laid him down again. Andrew felt too lazy to sit up again.

Jim said while checking the IVs,"don't try to get up now, wanna drink some water?"

Andrew was still remembering where he was. After his dad asked again to drink water, he startled. He said, "where is it?"

"What is where?", Jim stopped for a while.

"Where am I ?",Andrew asked.

"It's your room, you can't remember?", Jim asked alarmingly.

Andrew tried to put his thoughts all together. An open window with long blue curtains, posters of his childhood heroes...Buddy Rich, Charlie Parker, even a Freddie Mercury picture all over the walls, cute little pastel paintings, some science fiction books along with perfectly stacked CDs of Eric Clapton, Bon Jovi, Prince etc.

Yes, he was in his father's house, lying in his childhood room where a photo of him and his mom was still hanging from the wall.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain on his back. He hissed while looking down. He saw bandages around his right palm and abdomen. 

He heard someone call his dad from downstairs. Jim said,"don't move until I come. Here, take some sips. I'll be here again. If you need anything, just press this button", he showed a yellow button on a tiny remote and gave him a cup of water with a straw. Jim went out of the room.

Andrew did not take much time to recall why he was here, lying down with bandages all over him.

He had an accident.

He was going to attend a competition.

He lost his drum sticks.

His mind went on rolling backwards and stopped when he remembered Fletcher's face.

That bastard...he deserves to die.

And then Andrew thought, where has Fletcher been to? Shouldn't he be sued by now provoking his student to drive rashly? 

He laughed even in pain.

.

.

. 

"I don't know how you make it to here. We are getting on stage within 19 minutes", Fletcher told him angrily,"If I don't see your ass in time, I'm setting up Tanner".

.

.

.

Andrew is sure that he totally screwed up this time. But he was happy. He screwed Terence too. 

He smiled in his mind. Then someone knocked on the door. It was his dad. 

Jim's face seemed worried. 

He said,"you have a visitor", and then he moved from the door-frame, a bald headed man entered the room. 

Andrew counted terror. It was _the great_ Terence Fletcher(?).


	2. Always right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you jesse_pinkman for your lovely comment. I'm super motivated to write next chapter.  
> I also corrected some funny grammatical errors in the first chapter. :)

_Jim's face seemed worried._

_He said,"you have a visitor", and then he moved from the door-frame._

_A bald headed man entered the room._

_Andrew counted terror. It was the great Terence Fletcher(?)._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Andrew couldn't believe his eyes, Terence Fletcher? In his dad's house....hell, in his bedroom!! How on earth!!

His train of thoughts came to a sudden halt as someone cleared throat. Andrew looked at Fletcher. As wicked as he always looked. This time he had a loose smile at the corner of his lips too. 

"So?", Fletcher asked.

"So what?", Andrew asked annoyingly.

"So life of the great child prodigy aka mini Charlie Parker comes to an end? What a sad day it is. I will miss the slapping.", Fletcher said in a mocking way.

"You wish", Andrew hissed.

"Oh really! Did I step on your tail little kitty?"

"Don't you dare! You have no idea what I've been through all these time. Because of you, I broke up with my girlfriend. Because of you I have lost my reputation to my family. It was you who insulted me in front of a whole room of people. It was always you, always...", his breath hitched. He hugged himself tightly for dear life. Fletcher offered him the cup of water which Andrew angrily whisked off. 

After a while when his breaths stabled down, Fletcher began,

" _I_ never asked you to come to my band in the first place. It was _you_ who acted like an attention seeker princess. It was _you_ who kept coming to the rehearsals after I smacked the face hell outta you! I was just getting Tanner in your place, but.. _.you_ told me that you had left the sticks in your car.  _You_  have wanted all this. So don't blame me for what I had nothing to do with. My hands are clean in these matters.", Fletcher paused and then said,"I am really done with you Neiman".

Andrew listened everything. Each word kept ringing in his ears. No matter how angry he was at Terence, he realised it was actually all because of him and his stupid obsession with drums. 

Andrew has always been tough. Failure came to his life more than once, but he never backed down. Why this time he was feeling so sick, so ashamed? He never wanted to look weak before Fletcher. Anything happened, he kept his dignity. Why not now?

Andrew said in a shaky voice,"Get out".

Terence arched a brow.

"Get out now before I do anything that I regret later........please", Andrew begged. 

Fletcher started walking towards the door...and turned to Andrew, and then he said,"I feel sorry for your dad. You have caused him great pain". Then he went out of the room.

A single tear rolled down Andrew's eye. He really is a mess, Fletcher was right. Fletcher has always been right. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a little problem with writing slangs and swearings. Hope I'll get over with it.  
> Please write in the comment if I need to improve anything.


	3. Chapter 3

Terence looked at his watch. It was already half past five. He was getting late for _something_. So he walked up towards his car, got on it and started the engine. Before driving away, for the last time he looked at Andrew's window, and then left.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fletcher's words were still spinning in Andrew's head. Why did he pull his dad in the middle of their argument?

_He_  caused _his_ dadso much pain! Ever since his mom left Jim never left him out of sight, never scolded him, never deprived him from any earthly pleasures; he even quit his job from one of the biggest publishing house and took a low paying, small time consuming high school teacher job.

Andrew couldn't even think of a single moment when his dad tried to prevent him from doing anything he wished. Jim loved him unconditionally. It was Andrew who couldn't reciprocate his love. He remembered when he asked his dad about going to Shaffer other than prestigious colleges for academics. Despite being terribly sad, Jim allowed him to go there. And now......Andrew is a failure. 

He couldn't think anymore. He sat up, with his left hand he pulled out the IVs and stood up....only to sit down again. His whole body still felt so numb from medications. He stood up again, tried to walk towards the door to close it and sat against it on the floor. Andrew started to weep. He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as tears started pouring down his face. He softly whimpered as his body shook with sobs.He felt someone was trying to open the door, maybe dad. He didn't stop crying though. 

Jim was getting paranoid. Andrew was not answering him, the door was not opening and all he could hear a subtle whimpering. He cursed himself for not staying in the room as long as Fletcher was there. He could never trust that psycho. He again knocked the door loudly and yelled at his son. This time he heard a soft click and felt the lock open. He rushed inside the room and saw Andrew standing in the middle of the room, his back facing him. 

As Jim reached out his hand to him, Andrew started,"Can you help me this time? This last time?", in a shaky voice.

"What are you saying man?",his dad was awfully worried.

"I am just asking. I need your help to get out of these", he indicated the bandages.

"Y-yeah, off course, once you get well enough you can do it yourself",then he asked,"What's the matter Andy? Did Fletcher say anything", now Jim tried to look at his face. Andrew's eyes were red and puffy from crying. 

"No, it was me",he said with a sigh,"I actually yelled at him. You know, he was never responsible for anything, I made this happen. And now....whatever, mmm...", he dragged.

Jim asked,"And?"

"Well, you know, you always wanted me to go to colleges, so I was thinking if this is the right time...", he looked at his dad expectantly.

Jim knew something _was_ wrong. It's not that Andy hated academics, but he _loved_ drums above e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. So he said, unsurely, "uh ha! Okay, if that makes you happy..", Andy cut him midways,"Noo, it's what you always wanted, right? I mean, everybody wants that too. Aunt Emma, Travis and Dustin will get a good laugh though", he laughed humorlessly. 

"Andy, I'm sorry for what I have said that night. Travis and Dustin were our guests, I had to stop you before you said anything that would cause a drift between us and them. They are the _only_ relatives we have.", Jim said.

"I understand dad, _I_ am sorry for that. I just want to start something that I don't get laughed at.", he said.

Jim understood what was bugging his son. He said, "You know, I never took you to be weak and I will never. While you were in this bed, out for three days, I found some books to read in your closet. You bought them with your pocket money. One of the books was about Charlie Parker. It said that Jo Jones threw a cymbal at his head! That kid got laughed off-stage himself. Cried himself to sleep that night, but the next morning, he practiced until he bled and kept praying, never to be laughed at again. And a year later, he went back, stepped up on the stage, and played the best piece the world has ever heard."

Andrew gaped at him. How on fucking earth his dad became so cool!!

Jim continued,"I have seen you and Travis, Dustin ever since they were born, and I know where the difference is".

Andrew asked,"where?", still amazed.

"It's your genuineness. You went where your passion drove you. You are steered by your heart where your cousins are lost between studies, football and god knows what".Jim looked at Andrew's eyes,"So, don't ruin what you have now. When your mom was gone, for a fraction of moment I thought to give you up for adoption. But then, you wrapped your little fingers around my thumb and gave a wink. I believed you said, 'let's do it together '. From that moment I hooked you up to my ass and you and I became the best buddies", Jim welled up.

Andrew too had tears in his eyes, besides he grew two cherry red ears. He was way too astonished to see his dad like this. But he could not keep his eyes open, too much drugs took over his system and sent him to dreamland. 

 

 


	4. Start over again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I genuinely apologize for the delay. It wasn't planned, believe me!!

_That day, at 6:00 pm, in a rehabilitation centre_

 

Fletcher was sitting on a steel bench, frequently looking up at the door. Some distant sounds of crying, shoutings and songs were coming. Suddenly the door opened. An attendant came pushing a wheelchair. On it, a pale, slim boy with ruffled wavy brunette hair, was sat. His pale green eyes were looking so bored. 

The attendant settled the wheelchair and made a slight nod to Fletcher, then left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Fletcher walked up towards the boy, sat on knees before him and put his hand on the lap of the boy. The brunette looked up at him and gave a hard look. 

Fletcher started,"Jules, how are you?"

Jules said after fighting the urge to not to speak,"I'm Okay".

Fletcher: Are you listening to the doctors?

Jules sighed and gave a nod.

TF: Taking your medicines?

Jules gave a nod again.

TF: Do you want to go home?

This time, Jules suddenly looked up at him. His eyes were frightened. He swallowed a lump on the throat and shook his head. 

Fletcher's shoulder slumped. But he again looked straight in the boy's eyes and said,"I know I am a terrible dad, but you have to trust me. Please Julian. I had been wrong all the time, and I promise you, I won't make any mistake this time. Please."

Jules gave him a sad smile, and said,"I know that you cannot make mistakes anymore....."

Fletcher's eyes lit up.

Jules said,".....Coz, I have nothing left to be wronged with."

Fletcher looked alarmed. He said,"What do you want me to do baby? When you were on hospital bed, unconscious for 3 months, every moment I begged to God to see you alive once again. Those 3 months were longer than even 3 years. All I wanted was to apologize to you when you wake up. But what did you do? You didn't even want to see me! You know how hard that was? Do you know how hard to see your teenage kid lying senseless on a bed?", Fletcher had tears glistening in the corner of his eyes. 

Jules said slowly,"I did it because of you."

Fletcher arched eyebrows.

Jules continued,"You were ashamed of having me. I knew, if I were gone, you wouldn't have to bear my burdens". Jules lowered his head. The tears in his eyes threatened to fall.

Fletcher didn't know what to say. He was never so overwhelmed by emotions before. He cupped Jules' face in his hand and said,"Look at me. You have no idea how to be a dad. I have wronged you and you have every right to be angry with me. But don't you dare to go away from me, you hear? You are the only one I've ever had. I know that I am a moron, but we have to stick together baby! You could have talked to me after that. You are a my man, Fletchers are not that easy to break." 

"You gotta fight for you dignity, life is not for backing down. I said those because I wanted to make you stronger. I do that to every kid". Suddenly he stopped. A recent bitter memory flashed through his head. 

Fletcher said," Listen honey, if _you_ don't stay with me then who will? Promise me that you will point it out to me. You will point out where I am wrong and talk to me. Promise me Jules", Fletcher was desperate to win his son back.

Jules remained silent for a long time. Slowly he looked away and said,"I will tell you later", and pressed a switch on the handle of his wheelchair. Terence sighed in frustration.

The attendant came and took him away. While going, Jules looked at his dad over his shoulder....

.

.

.

and gave a rare smile. 

Terence's eyes jumped up in joy. 

He knew everything was going to be alright.

He smiled at the door after he was gone, stood up from floor and walked towards the gate, keeping a small smile on his lips.


	5. A new journey (?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean to abandon this work. I had a lot on my plate, and now it seems that burdens are little lighter. Here's a brand new chapter only for you guys...

_After Six months_

Andrew was getting ready, he has a competition tonight, at Lincoln's. It's been six bloody months to get _ready_  , in fact and he is desperate to _win_ this one. The winner drummer gets chance in National Shaffer's Academy. The _national_ one. 

Jim has already gotten ready. He checked on Andrew once before going to take his car out of garage. It was a pretty nice evening, little bit chilly, but when your mind is jammed with excitation, you still sweat.

Andrew got down as soon as possible. He was literally murmuring the motivational quotes that jim just gave him as a pep talk few days back. _'I can't screw this up, I had six months to prepare for this!' ,_ Andy thought to himself. A sudden loud honk came from the car and Andrew came down to earth. "Are you gonna stand here or get in the car! It's getting late buddy", Jim yelled. Andrew jumped in the seat beside jim and said in a croaked voice "let's go". 

A few minutes later they reached the venue. Andy got off the car and looked around. Hundreds of young people stood there with multiple musical instruments. Jim put a hand on Andy's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, you got this". Sometimes Andrew seriously thinks that Jim is even cooler than Bruno Mars. He hasn't got any idea why he can't be as cool as dad. He had to stop his train of thought when a similar voice came to his ears. 

"So we meet again? How are you?"

Andrew's face went white. Why on earth Terence is here!? 

He tried to gain his composure and shook his hand with his nemesis. "I thought they suspended you from Schaffer's. What are you doing here?".

"Can't I be an audience? However, FYI, Schaffer cannot afford to lose its best coach", he stopped and looked down to his watch and said,"I'm getting late, the hall's gonna get packed if I don't go now. Good luck. Don't drop your sticks", Fletcher said with a wink and rushed to the entrance. Jim quietly came to his side and patted his back and said,"You know you are more than this. Go, kill it", he kissed on his cheeks and Andy cracked up, "Ugghh, not here dad!!". Jim chuckled and walked up to the door. Andy stayed there for some moments and walked up to the greenroom. He has a lot to do in his life, and he cannot do them being afraid. He has to be fearless today. 

While walking through the corridor, he saw a boy crouching on the floor and picking up some papers with a violin in his hand. Andy went to help him. When the boy met his eyes, he looked scared, and there were beads of sweat on his forehead. He smiled to Andy nervously and said,"Thank you, these people kinda love to bully others". Andy smiled too. He picked up the papers and handed over to him and said," I'm Andrew, you're here for competition, right?". The boy now regained his composure, and said,"I'm Julian by the way. Yeah, I'm here for the competition. It seems to be pretty tough. People won't let themselves get loose". He said with a sigh. Andy nodded and said,"Yeah, it is tough. But I don't believe in comparing myself with others". Julian looked up to Andy with sparkling eyes and gave him a loose smile. "Let's do it?", he said and walked to the room together like brothers in arm. Both of them felt like they've just met their bffs.

They entered the waiting room. A lot of young men and women were brushing up for the last minutes. A guy was calling their names one by one and they had to go to the stage to perform. Everyone looked nervous. Some were praying with eyes closed, some were laughing with others like they have just come to entertain. Andy and Julian took two seats. Three hours passed. Everyone got 3 minutes to perform and everything was going very fast. The name caller guy came in and told,"Adam, Pepper, Whitney, Andrew and Julian. Get ready for your turns, go in orders and maintain the decorum. You'll get only 3 minutes each and after your performances, go out of the stage through the door on the left wing. And don't come back here. Your results will be announced one hour later and then you'll know what to do in the next level".

Everyone nodded. The bell rang for them as an indication to go. They made a bee line and walked on the stage. Four judges were sitting before them, each one looked ferocious. They called their names again to know who's who and rang the buzzer. Adam started to play flute. And then, one by one Pepper, Whitney played cellos. Andrew's turn came. He took a brief pause and started playing that 3 minutes piece he had composed. He had no idea what he sounded like as he didn't look at anyone. His three minutes got over. The judges looked at each other and took some notes. 

Then they gave signal to Julian to play. He got startled and looked super nervous. His hands were shaking. The judges became impatient and signaled him for the second time. This time Andy whispered to him and showed a thumb up. Julian smiled weakly and took his violin on his right shoulder and bow on left hand. He closed his eyes and started playing Brahms:violin sonata no.3. Andy's pupil dilated at that music. He had never heard such a beautiful melancholic tune before! I felt like everything melted around him. The 3 minutes were over and Andy came to consciousness. He wished if he could listen to this on and on. But they had to leave the stage immediately after Julian finished his performance. 

They walked out of the stage and joined previous competitors in the next room. Andy patted Julian's back and said,"That was awesome! Where did you learn to play like that?"

Julian's cheeks got red, he said, "Really? Thank you! You too played very well. Anyway, my mom taught me how to play violin. Where did you use to play?"

Andy said,"I started at the local Schaffer's academy. I'm a self taught". 

Julian said,"Ohh, that's where I used to play too. Under whom did you play exactly?"

Andy said," A guy named Terence Fletcher. Or you can call him a Hitler too. He threw a chair over my head once. Since then we became nemesis. Funnily enough, I just met him here today. He's in audience".

Julian's face went blank, he just nodded with Andy, but there was a hint of shock in his eyes. 

Then the name caller guy came and started announcing the names for semi final. A very few people were getting selected. So Andrew closed his eyes and clenched teeth till the guy called his name out. Others congratulated him. Julian got selected too. He looked at Andrew with a stupid smile and hugged him. The guy said,"You'll go to your homes now. We'll call you within 3 days to tell you the dates of semi finals and final. Be prepared. It will be within a week. So, get a goodnight's sleep now because you'll have to practice your ass off. And lastly, congratulations. Good night". He went away.  Andy asked to Julian, "Do you have anyone to get you home?". Julian nodded and they walked towards the exit. Jim was already standing there with a big smile. He hugged Andy so tight that Julian started to laugh. Andrew then introduced Jim to Julian. They shook hands together. "So, where's your guardian?". Julian answered in a low voice,"I have my father here. I'll find him. Don't wait for me."

JIm looked a little unconvinced. But he bid him a good night and started to walk towards his car. Suddenly Terence came in their way. He said,"Well, tonight was a lucky night for you. Semi final's gonna be tougher. You missed a few beats. Be careful for the next time". 

Andy clenched his teeth and said, "why do you care so much? And what the hell are YOU doing this late? They are not gonna hire you again".

Terence said with nonchalance,"Naah, I'm here for my son. He is a participant too. Look, there he is.", He pointed his finger to Andy and Jim's back. Julian stood there with a sad expression. 

Andy felt like a slap on his face. Julian! Terence got a son! 

Julian came forward and stood next to Terence. The bald man wrapped an arm around his shoulder and said,"Someone's very surprised. Why? Couldn't you see we look just the same?", with that everyone rolled their eyes. Julian absolutely doesn't look like him. "Anyway, it's getting colder. You guys better get home, so do we. Good night."

With that, Fletcher got off. Andrew kept looking at them walking away. Then Julian looked back at him, gave a faint, knowing smile. Andy couldn't resist to smile himself. He waved his hand to say good bye. It didn't matter to him who Julian's father is. All that matters is that he made a good friend now, after a long time. And this time he knows for sure that he didn't make a mistake to identify a _Friend_. Julian is his new friend, and they will go to Schaffer together. 


	6. Blending together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it is time for the semi finale, and our Andrew & Julien ready to hit the notes.

One week later

Andrew was looking for someone. He was standing in the middle of a hundred people, all in black attires, looking nervous. It was the day that would ascertain their futures. But it's been almost half an hour that Andy was looking for Jules. He should have reached here before time. At least that's what he told to Andy.

He reeled back to the day after their audition. He was so keen to talk Jules, that he contacted the academy to ask for his phone number. And without even being a little bit hesitant, he called Jules the next morning. Jules was totally taken aback by that. His voice sounded so euphoric. They chatted for 72.09 minutes until they realized both of their dads have been calling from downstairs for a long time. But they kept in touch with each other.

Jim and Terence, both knew about it & Jim kinda laughed seeing Andy talk to someone in such a childish manner. On the other hand, Terence seemed to have no delirium at all; like he had no interest in his kid's life. It was good in some way. 

Jules talked to Andy about everything he could ever think of. They even started to hangout. Had pizzas, coffee, practiced their instruments, even went to a movie together! They were possibly the first guys ever in the world who became bffs in a week. Andy told Jules everything about him, about his mom, including that _'_ _period'_ with Terence. But he knew deep down that Julien was hiding something from him. Though Andy never pushed him about it. Somethings are better off kept secrets. 

He loved Jules like his own little brother. And whenever Andy talked, he would listen to all of it with wide eyes like he never heard anything like them. He is good listener. And often he would utter how fool had he been to not to meet Andy before. Andy wanted to ask why. But never could he. _'May be later?' ,_ he thought.He also wondered why Terence never mentioned that he had a son. 

For Jim, he was utterly surprised and shocked when he first saw Jules. Julien looked cute as a button where Terence looked nothing different than an ogre.

"I'm here!", a sudden yell stopped Andy's train of thoughts and he turned his face with a smile. Jules was running towards him, in one hand he had a bow tie, on the other hand he carried a half eaten granola bar. Both Jim and Andy laughed at him.

"I don't know how it got so late! I woke up an hour later. Even dad forgot about today. Thank goodness he didn't leave for work already. All I could do was to wear this crappy suit and grab a bar. I even forgot to take my violin, dad reminded me of them....", he trailed off while Andy helped fixing his tie and brush his coat & hair. He was real mess. 

Behind Julien, Terence came running with box of violin in one hand & a wrist watch in another hand. 

"You kids are gonna be the deaths of me", he gave those to Jules, kissed his cheek and said,"okay, I'm off now. I'll come back to pick you up at 5 o'clock. Do your best. Fletchers rock!!" , with that he tried to do a fist bump but failed miserably as the three of them were looking at him like they saw an alien. Andy almost dropped his jaw when he saw Terence kissing Jules' chick. He looked exactly like his dad. Do all dads in the worlds do the same when it comes to their kids? 

Terrence left the place as soon as a guy with a loud speaker announced that all of them have to go to the green room. Jim patted Andy's back and gave Jules an earnest smile before going to the auditorium. 

Andrew and Julien looked at each other, bumped their fists and walked towards the group of semi finalists. This is just the beginning.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished University this month. I'll be free for 2 months now, and I want to finish this story within August.   
> P.s. A lot kudos to splitcinnamon for re-reading this fiction.

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language.  
> You'll have to bare with me for a while...since this is my first ever fanfiction. So advices are always accepted.  
> P.S. No real dialogues are used here.


End file.
